One of the more interesting figures in health IT is Evan Steele, the outspoken CEO of ambulatory EMR vendor SRSsoft. For years, Steele pushed his Montvale, N.J.-based company’s “hybrid” EMR as a product that won't slow down "high-performance" physicians. After passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, Steele openly boasted that his customers—mostly specialists—were prepared not to receive bonuses for "meaningful use," a program he believes is skewed toward primary care.

Recently though, Steele has shifted his stance. SRSsoft has rebranded "hybrid" EMR as SRS EHR and now is seeking certification so customers can qualify for the federal incentive program. What makes Steele tick and what led to his change of heart? This podcast provides some answers.

I apologize for the audio quality. I was using a new telephone recording device, and clearly don’t have the settings right. I edited this on an airplane, and the recording was tolerable. Just listen with a bunch of background noise and it’ll be fine. :)

0:57 "Hybrid" EMR and physician productivity 1:40 Change in direction for the company with certification 2:15 What has and hasn’t changed with the product itself 3:10 Still targeting "high-performance" physicians 5:25 Why he says SRS EHR won’t slow physicians down 6:40 Documentation options 7:30 Why he believes Stage 1 meaningful use is skewed toward primary care 9:40 Changes in final regulations that focus on specialists 10:35 Why SRS is seeking certification now 13:00 Differences between SRS and other vendors 14:00 Physician confusion about meaningful use 15:40 "Unnatural" elements for specialists in meaningful use 16:30 Innovation being "sapped" from marketplace 17:00 Gamble of the stimulus 18:15 How SRS is innovating within the confines of the new rules 20:00 Expectations for HIMSS11 22:05 What SRS gets out of going to HIMSS 23:30 SRS’ niche among large, enterprise systems vendors 26:20 Message for HIMSS attendees